Man accused of distributing racist and antisemitic flyers in Pittsburgh faces $48,000 in fines
Two weeks after people in Squirrel Hill and other communities came across hateful flyers targeting minority groups outside their homes, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police said a man is now facing more than $48,000 in fines.
Living in Squirrel Hill, Rebecca Elhassid is seriously concerned about the hatred that she said has become normalized in today's society towards Jewish people and members of other minority groups.
"I didn't think that in my lifetime we were going to see this kind of resurgence of hate," Elhassid said.
She said it's now so commonplace that the flyers distributed in her neighborhood last month didn't surprise her.
"Naively, I thought that we were past this as an American community, and we're not," Elhassid said.
It was May 18 when people found antisemitic flyers, along with those sending racist and anti-immigrant messages, across Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, and in Washington County's Peters Township.
Now, Pittsburgh police said 45-year-old Jeremy Brokaw of Zanesville, Ohio was the driver behind the wheel of a tan Dodge Durango. They issued more than 160 traffic citations against him for depositing waste and other material on properties, each carrying a $300 fine.
Shawn Brokos is the director of community security at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
"They drove a distance. They drove about two hours from Zanesville, Ohio to come do this," Brokos said. "They did it with windows open, you know, broad daylight, yelling antisemitic comments out the window."
Brokos said the people responsible are affiliated with a known white supremacy organization that's not known to be violent. They've encountered them other times in the past five years, but never this blatantly. She doesn't know if the incidents here meet the statute for a hate crime federally or ethnic intimidation on the state level.
"It's a very high threshold, and it typically has to be a threat of violence, whether that violence was carried out or not," Brokos said.
It's unclear if the others in the vehicle with Brokaw will face any consequences. Either way, Brokos hopes these fines are a deterrent.
"I hope the citation at least sends a message, that do not come through Squirrel Hill, do not try and intimidate our Jewish community or harass our Jewish community," Brokos said.
The case remains under investigation as detectives try to identify the others in the vehicle. If you have any information about them, call Pittsburgh police at 412-422-6520 or 911.
